Chapter XVIII.—Passages from Moses,
which the heretics pervert to the support of their hypothesis.

1. And
while they affirm such things as these concerning the creation, every one
of them generates something new, day by day, according to his ability;
for no one is deemed “perfect,” who does not develop among
them some mighty fictions. It is thus necessary, first, to indicate what
things they metamorphose [to their own use] out of the prophetical
writings, and next, to refute them. Moses, then, they declare, by his mode of
beginning the account of the creation, has at the commencement pointed
out the mother of all things when he says, “In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth;”28792879Gen. i. 1. for, as they
maintain, by naming these four,—God, beginning, heaven, and
earth,—he set forth their Tetrad. Indicating also its invisible
and hidden nature, he said, “Now the earth was invisible and
unformed.”28802880Gen. i. 2. They will have it, moreover,
that he spoke of the second Tetrad, the offspring of the first, in this
way—by naming an abyss and darkness, in which were also water,
and the Spirit moving upon the water. Then, proceeding to mention the
Decad, he names light, day, night, the firmament, the evening, the
morning, dry land, sea, plants, and, in the tenth place, trees. Thus, by
means of these ten names, he indicated the ten Æons. The power of the
Duodecad, again, was shadowed forth by him thus:—He names the sun,
moon, stars, seasons, years, whales, fishes, reptiles, birds, quadrupeds,
wild beasts, and after all these, in the twelfth place, man. Thus they
teach that the Triacontad was spoken of through Moses by the Spirit.
Moreover, man also, being formed after the image of the power above, had
in himself that ability which flows from the one source. This ability was
seated in the region of the brain, from which four faculties proceed,
after the image of the Tetrad above, and these are called: the first,
sight, the second, hearing, the third, smell, and
the fourth,28812881 One of the
senses was thus capriciously cancelled by these heretics. taste. And they say that the Ogdoad is indicated by man in this
way: that he possesses two ears, the like number of eyes, also two
nostrils, and a twofold taste, namely, of bitter and sweet. Moreover,
they teach that the whole man contains the entire image of the Triacontad
as follows: In his hands, by means of his fingers, he bears the Decad;
and in his whole body the Duodecad, inasmuch as his body is divided into
twelve members; for they portion that out, as the body of Truth is
divided by them—a point of which we have already spoken.28822882 See above, chap. xiv. 2. But the Ogdoad, as being unspeakable and invisible, is understood
as hidden in the viscera.

2. Again, they assert that the sun, the great
light-giver, was formed on the fourth day, with a reference to the number
of the Tetrad. So also, according to them, the courts28832883 Or, rather, perhaps
“curtains.” Ex. xxvi. 1. of
the tabernacle constructed by Moses, being composed of fine linen, and
blue, and purple, and scarlet, pointed to the same image. Moreover, they
maintain that the long robe of the priest falling over his feet, as being
adorned with four rows of precious stones,28842884Ex. xxviii. 17. indicates the Tetrad; and if there are any other things in the
Scriptures which can possibly be dragged into the number four,
they declare that these had their being with a view to the Tetrad. The
Ogdoad, again, was shown as follows:—They affirm that man was
formed on the eighth day, for sometimes they will have him to have been
made on the sixth day, and sometimes on the eighth, unless, perchance,
they mean that his earthly part was formed on the sixth day, but his
fleshly part on the eighth, for these two things are distinguished by
them. Some of them also hold that one man was formed after the image and
likeness of God, masculo-feminine, and that this was the spiritual man;
and that another man was formed out of the earth.

3. Further, they declare that the arrangement made with
respect to the ark in the Deluge, by means of which eight persons were
saved,28852885Gen.
vi. 18; 1 Pet. iii. 20. most
clearly indicates the Ogdoad which brings salvation. David also shows
forth the same, as holding the eighth place in point of age among his
brethren.288628861
Sam. xvi. 10. Moreover, that circumcision which
took place on the eighth day,28872887Gen. xvii. 12.
represented the circumcision of the Ogdoad above. In a word, whatever
they find in the Scriptures capable of being referred to the number
eight, they declare to fulfil the mystery of the Ogdoad. With
respect, again, to the Decad, they maintain that it is indicated by those
ten nations which God promised to Abraham for a possession.28882888Gen. xv.
19. The arrangement also made by Sarah when, after
ten years, she gave28892889Gen. xvi. 2. her handmaid Hagar to him,
that by her he might have a son, showed the same thing. Moreover, the
servant of Abraham who was sent to Rebekah, and presented her at the well
with ten bracelets of gold, and her
344
brethren who detained
her for ten days;28902890Gen. xxiv. 22, 25. Jeroboam also, who
received the ten sceptres289128911 Kings xi. 31.
(tribes), and the ten courts28922892Ex. xxvi. 1, Ex. xxxvi.
8. of the tabernacle, and the columns of ten
cubits28932893Ex.
xxxvi. 21. [high], and the ten sons of Jacob who
were at first sent into Egypt to buy corn,28942894Gen. xlii. 3. and the ten apostles to whom the Lord appeared after His
resurrection,—Thomas28952895John xx. 24. being
absent,—represented, according to them, the invisible Decad.

4. As to the Duodecad, in connection with which the
mystery of the passion of the defect occurred, from which passion they
maintain that all things visible were framed, they assert that is to be
found strikingly and manifestly everywhere [in Scripture]. For they
declare that the twelve sons of Jacob,28962896Gen. xxxv. 22, Gen. xlix.
28. from whom also sprung twelve tribes,—
the breastplate of the high priest, which bore twelve precious stones and
twelve little bells,28972897Ex. xxviii. 2.—There is no mention of the
number of the bells in Scripture. —the twelve
stones which were placed by Moses at the foot of the mountain,28982898Ex. xxiv.
4. —the same number which was placed by
Joshua in the river,28992899Josh. iv. 3. and again, on the other
side, the bearers of the ark of the covenant,29002900Josh. iii. 12.—those stones which were set up by Elijah when the heifer
was offered as a burnt-offering;290129011 Kings xviii. 31. the
number, too, of the apostles; and, in fine, every event which embraces in
it the number twelve,—set forth their Duodecad. And then
the union of all these, which is called the Triacontad, they strenuously
endeavour to demonstrate by the ark of Noah, the height of which was
thirty cubits;29022902Gen. vi. 15. by the case of Samuel, who
assigned Saul the chief place among thirty guests;290329031 Sam. ix. 22. by David, when for thirty days he concealed himself in the
field;290429041 Sam.
xx. 5. by those who entered along with him into
the cave; also by the fact that the length (height) of the holy
tabernacle was thirty cubits;29052905Ex. xxvi. 8. Numbers appear
to have been often capriciously introduced by these heretics to give a
colour of support to their own theories. and if they meet
with any other like numbers, they still apply these to their
Triacontad.